Hardin Jail Finally to Get Inmates
September 15th, 2009 Officials say a private jail in Hardin MT has signed a 10-year contract agreeing to house federal prisoners. Story from KMXC.

Greg Smith, the head of the towns economic development authority, says the contract with American Private Police Force Organization Incorporated calls for 80 percent of the jobs at the facility to be open to local residents. The contract says more than 200 medium to minimum security inmates will be housed in the prison by mid-January. The $27 million detention center has sat empty since it was completed in 2007. It has a maximum capacity of 464 prisoners.

HARDIN  Officials from American Police Force, a California security company working to lock down a contract with Two Rivers Authority to fill and operate Hardins new but empty jail, provided more details Saturday of how the finished facility will look and operate.

At a Saturday morning press conference, Becky Shay, APFs new public-relations director, said the company hopes to build a 30,000-square-foot military-style training facility northeast of the jail and a 75,000-square-foot dormitory for the trainees to the southeast, all on a 50-acre plot of land.

She said the buildings would be paid for by APFs business activities, including security and training, weapons and equipment sales, surveillance and investigations, and are projected to cost $17 million to build and $6 million to equip. There is also room to expand the jail, if needed

Montana attorney general launches investigation into Hardin jail

HELENA - Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock launched an investigation Thursday into American Police Force, the California company founded by a Serbian immigrant with a lengthy criminal history that is seeking to run an empty 464-bed jail in Hardin.

Bullock sent a nine-page demand letter late Thursday afternoon to Becky Shay, the spokeswoman for APF and the company's only Montana employee.

Shay did not immediately respond to phone calls Thursday.

According to the document, Bullock is launching the civil investigation into APF over concerns that the company might be violating the Montana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act.

Among other things, Bullock demanded that the company provide proof for many statements about the company included on APF's Web site. The site says that the company frequently has contracts with the U.S. government and has operations in all 50 states

Michael Hilton of American Police Force arrived in Hardin with promises of Mercedes police cars and expertise in operating prisons. He delivered the cars last week, but may have learned about prisons following a 1993 conviction for grand theft.

Public records from police and state and federal courts in California show that Michael Anthony Hilton, using that name and more than a dozen aliases over several years, is cited in multiple criminal, civil and bankruptcy cases, and was sentenced in 1993 to two years in state prison in California.

Hilton pleaded guilty in March 1993 to 14 felonies, including 10 counts of grand theft, one count of attempted grand theft and three counts of diversion of construction funds, according to Orange County court records. He was sentenced to two years in prison, but it is unclear how much time he served.

Court records in that case list his real name as Michael Hilton, but they also include the aliases Midrag Ilia Dokovitch, Midrag Ilia Dokovich and Michael Miodrag.

Hilton, who speaks heavily accented English, has told reporters that he is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Montenegro, a country bordering Serbia, and once part of the former Republic of Yugoslavia.APF head Hilton has history of legal trouble

It's probably going to be Gitmo USA. And at probably twice the cost of Gitmo Cuba. But don't forget we also have radical right winged extremists in our midst. Just check out that angry mob of town hall protesters, carrying signs and asking questions and shit.

It's probably going to be Gitmo USA. And at probably twice the cost of Gitmo Cuba. But don't forget we also have radical right winged extremists in our midst. Just check out that angry mob of town hall protesters, carrying signs and asking questions and shit.

I first heard of this, about 1 year ago. Dubya was, at that time, the hand behind all of this. Has that hand changed since then. Has it become an Obama camp? Or is it just a government conspiracy theory altogether?

It is definitely a very disturbing thought. I've seen the videos as well.

What I mean is, that I can understand why you would believe all of this, because there are so many sites that would LEAD you to believe that all of this is true. The most frightening thing that I saw during all of this "conspiracy" was the active military unit dedicated to the US, toward the end of Bush's presidency. My heart was telling me that it was for martial law after the stock market collapse.

But my head finally convinced me that the unit was for a potential attack on US soil (which before 9/11 seemed inconceivable). But it is certainly an interesting debate. You have some interesting evidence. I would love to hear more.

Civilian patrol is not uncommon- the right to keep and bear arms IS essentially our civilian patrol..

I see this as being a possible slippery slope situation.. If the government approves of state funded civilian patrol units, then the right to bear arms is only going to lose more and more strength.. It is scary, in some ways- but in others- it is okay. I like that the company itself is okay with felons working in the jails.

Who better to keep an eye on the inmates than someone with the mind of a criminal? After all, probation and parole officers are often allowed to have felony charges..

Whos to say "once a felon, always a felon"? Do the crime, pay the time- then it should end. I do not believe that people should have their rights to a fair trial, employment, etc, infringed upon by having such a thing as a "criminal history report". I realize that these reports help to aid investigators in finding habits, but these same criminal history reports also give cops (who should be making arrests based on clear and present evidence, not a history) the opportunity to jump the gun and make an arrest or a search based on little or no evidence whatsoever. I support the work that police do, I just don't like how easy it is for them to make a rush judgment on someone, just because they have a criminal history report on them. I think that to truly be free from the double jeopardy clause, the police should have to do real life evidence based investigations, rather than "criminal history" investigations. Otherwise, the person is going to keep being charged with bullcrap charges that they would not have been suspected of, based primarily on the conviction they had in the past.. If you are going to assume someone is guilty of something or dangerous to the public based on a conviction that they already did time for, then why not just keep on charging them with that same crime?? Just doesnt make sense to me.

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